Christian Blog Chronicles: Navigating Faith, Hope, and Love in Today's World

On my way to church one morning I found myself zipping along at just the perfect speed, no cars were around and I was hitting all the green lights. Our Lord’s day was off to a wonderful start, until I ended up behind a car whose driver was going 10 miles under the speed limit. It only took seconds before I started complaining about it. This may seem like a very insignificant complaint,  but as I examine my life I see that there has been more complaining than thanksgiving, more feelings of annoyance than contentment, and more sighs of frustration than praise. 

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Off the top of head I can think of a number of things I have complained about recently: how tired I am, how I don’t feel like cooking, how the kids leave their stuff all over the place, how the weather is not warm enough and how the dog keeps chewing stuff up. Nothing earth shattering, and yet all sinful.Among students, the top choice for essay services that do my project for me https://essayhub.com/do-my-project shines with unmatched quality, promptness in delivery, and superior customer care. It extends an array of options including bespoke essays, detailed research papers, and meticulous editing, all aimed at fulfilling unique educational demands.

And this is when I realize that my heart has wandered to a place where Jesus isn’t enough. Where his providence is not appreciated and his goodness is doubted.

An unthankful and complaining spirit is an abiding sin against God, and a cause of almost continual unhappiness; and yet how common such a spirit is. How prone we seem to be to forget the good that life knows, and remember and brood over its evil – to forget its joys, and think only of its sorrows – to forget thankfulness, and remember only to complain.
John Broadus

Every person on earth struggles with the sin of complaint. Some more than others. As a Christian I have to ask myself, if we have Jesus, do we need anything else? If we have been promised an inheritance more amazing and glorious than we can ever imagine, if this life is as fragile and fleeting as a vapor, what is a little cold weather, or a slow moving line at the grocery store, an old couch, or any other inconvenience in comparison? Similarly, pay for research paper by PaperWriter offers specialized services for those interested in religious content, particularly for projects like Christian Blog Chronicles. This service provides well-rounded research papers that can be used to enrich blog content with historical, theological, or contemporary Christian topics, supporting bloggers in crafting posts that resonate with their audience and deepen their blog's impact.

We are called to do all things without complaining or grumbling (Phil. 2:15 ). All things! No exceptions. Ever.

And why are we to do all things without complaining?

Because a complainer raises her fists up against God himself, telling him that she is not satisfied with who God is and what he is doing in her life.  

A complaining spirit shows that she does not see the wisdom of her Creator or the vast love of her Jesus.

A complainer’s  words shouts loudly that Jesus is not enough, that she deserves something more, as well as something better.Highly valued by students, this essay service with ai writer stands out for its exceptional quality, on-time delivery, and first-rate customer support. It delivers a broad spectrum of personalized academic solutions, including specially tailored essays, detailed research papers, and meticulous proofreading, tailored to meet the individual academic requirements of students.

So, how do I combat this discontent heart? By returning to Christ and the cross.

Christ and the Cross

At the cross the complainer sees that she deserves infinitely worse than what she is experiencing now.

At the cross the grumbler sees how ignorant she really is. Does she really understand all that Christ did for her in his life, death and resurrection? If she did her complaining would evaporate.

At the cross the quibbler finds humility, thankfulness, love, and every other quality that is missing because of the magnitude of the love and sacrifice of Jesus.

At the cross we come face to face with a Savior who not only poured out his blood for each and every complaint, but also poured into us his righteousness and power so that we can fight! 

The more time that is spent at the cross the more I see that Jesus really is enough. In him we have all power to fight sin. In Him we have all joy available for everyday. In Him we have the forgiveness of every sin. In Him we have peace for every trial and strength for every hardship. 

I have no reason to complain because in Christ I have everything I need and more.

It’s time to repent and immerse myself in the work and person of Jesus.

Checkout Thomas Watson’s book The Art of Divine Contentment for more on this. 

Today I am over at Club31 Women helping fellow morning haters, um, I mean,  "non-morning people" get into God's word. 

I am not, let me repeat, I am not a morning person. As matter of fact, I absolutely do not understand those of you who wake up all chipper, jump out of bed, throw open the curtains, and welcome the day with a smile and a song. It seems unnatural to me. It’s just wrong.

No matter what time I go to bed the night before, getting out of bed the next morning is pure torture. My eyes feel like they have had acid sprayed in them, my ears are assaulted by screaming birds, the last thing I want to do is talk, and I walk like a zombie to the bathroom.

Begin With The Word

Now try to read your Bible is this state. It just doesn’t work. And yet I know that it is good for my soul to begin the day by focusing on the one Person by whose power I breathe and move and make it through my day (Acts 17:28).

Beginning the day with the word of God is important because the moment we open our eyes we are engaging in war. This war is against the weaknesses of our flesh, the very alluring, yet false promises of the world, and the sly schemes of Satan.

We need to strap on our armor and engage all that comes at us with wisdom and faith. But our armor is not found in positive thinking, pep talks, or new schedules. Not even the natural state of a “morning person” is enough to start warring. Our armor is the word of God. It is how our minds are renewed, our faith strengthened, wisdom is learned, and temptations overcome.

There is no way around it, whether we are a morning person or not, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to begin the day in God’s word.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8

How to Begin the Day With the Lord

Now, I am not talking about staggering out of bed in order to do an in-depth Bible study. Believe me, I could never do that first thing in the morning. I study later in the day. I am simply talking about getting the word of God in us shortly after we wake up.

But how does someone who only feels half alive in the morning begin the day with the Lord?

Let me share with you something that has been a huge help to me. Electronics. That’s right, electronics are not all bad. I believe they are a gift from God that sadly have been misused and even used for evil, but that doesn’t make it bad in and of itself.

READ THE REST HERE

We are quickly coming up on the 499th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. There were a number of people who played important roles in the reformation, but one of the key figures, maybe even the key figure, was Martin Luther.

After his conversion, this German monk became passionate about two big theological truths. One being sola scriptura, meaning that the Bible is the supreme authority regarding salvation and our spiritual life. The second theological truth was sola fide, which teaches that salvation is not by faith plus works, but by faith, in the work of Christ, alone.

This new understanding, that justification is by faith alone, threw Luther’s whole world upside down and his excitement could not be contained. His awe and love for this God who saves freely, and who forgives out of His pure goodness and love, fueled Luther’s writings. It also filled him with the confidence to stand up to the leadership of his time, no matter the cost (which is pretty amazing for one who was once terrified of a thunderstorm, don’t you think).  

In his Treatise on Christian Liberty, Luther tells a beautiful parable of justification. Here is a retelling of his story.

There once was a King who chose for himself a bride who was a poor, deformed, harlot. She had no loveliness of her own and yet the King wanted her. As their wedding day arrived the King gave to his bride a   “wedding-ring of faith” and the very second he placed that ring on her finger she became his Queen and they were forever united. They became “one” and all that was his became hers. His love, his blessings, his possessions even his kingdom now belonged to her.

Her bridegroom provided her with “all his good things”. He washed her with the water of his word, dressed her with “eternal righteousness” and  presented her, despite her character,  as a “glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle”.  

This also meant that all that was hers became his.  In the intimacy of this union the King took on himself all of his bride’s transgressions and debts. He “takes a share in the sins, death, and hell of His wife, nay, makes them His own, and deals with them no otherwise than as if they were His, and as if He Himself had sinned”.

Now this fallen woman was Queen, but she had lived all of her life as a prostitute and so she did not know how to act as Queen. Though she was freed from her condemnations and showered with all of her husband’s blessings, though she could be “fearless of death [and] safe from hell” her character was still that of a harlot. But, through her union with the King, her character no longer defined her.  Her status of Queen defined her, and the longer she lived with her King the more her character changed.

“It is impossible now that her sins should destroy her, since they have been laid upon Christ and swallowed up in Him, and since she has in her Husband Christ a righteousness which she may claim as her own, and which she can set up with confidence against all her sins, against death and hell, saying, "If I have sinned, my Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned; all mine is His, and all His is mine," as it is written, "My beloved is mine, and I am His"

Some, during Luther’s time, thought this to be a disgusting story. They couldn’t wrap their brains around the fact that the King would choose for himself a defiled woman and that he would value faith above virtue. But they were wrong. There is infinite beauty in the doctrine of justification and, what should really give us pause, is that this is our story. The King of Heaven has chosen us to be His bride and with the ring of faith on our finger, we are now His forever. While we are still sinners, sin no longer defines us. We are defined by our status as the Bride of Christ and we can, with all confidence, say with Luther, “My beloved is mine, and I am His.”